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ENGLISH 101. ACADEMIC WRITING |
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Module 1 Module 2 3:
Euthyphro 11:
Research Project 19:
Outlines Module 5 25:
About the Exam
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1. Parts of Speech The expression 'parts of speech' is a somewhat archaic term for 'word classes,' or the kinds a words a language can have. As early as the 4th century BC, Aristotle was talking about these word classes (meros tes lexeos); his term was translated by a Latin grammarian as pars orationis (a part or element of discourse); then, in the 1500's an English grammarian translated this Latin phrase into our now quaint expression "parts of speech" (McArthur 753). According to traditional grammars, English is made up of eight parts of speech (listed below on this page). They are descendants of the original eight word classes described by Greek grammarians over two millennia ago. Of course, a few changes occurred through the millennia. For example, the adjective was invented by medieval grammarians about a thousand years ago; until then, adjectives had coexisted with adverbs in the same "superordinate" category of modifying words (McArthur 754). Adverbs remain the fuzziest of our categories today. Nonetheless, this class and the others have been with us for a long time. Grammar is a very old subject that has changed little in the course of history.
From the lessons of neurology we are beginning to understand the science of grammar and style. They matter biologically. Grammatical speech and writing are easy on the neurons because the receiving brain finds all of the words exactly where they are expected to be. Ungrammatical expressions present challenges to the receiving brain, and the extra energy required to store the words where they belong is what we experience as confusion or difficulty in understanding. the eight parts of speech Here are the eight parts. (1)
noun:
the name of a person (Joe, Mr. Ed, Saruman, Queen Amidala, girl,
student, acrobat, bookworm);
(2) A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun (Joe hit the ball. He really nailed it.) or another pronoun (She wanted her money.) Common English pronouns include: I, my, mine, me, we, our, ours, us, you, yours, your, he, his, him, she, her, hers, it, its, they, their, theirs, them, which, that, who, whose, whom, this, that, these, those, all, any, both, each, either, neither, few, many, none, some, several, other, another, anybody, everybody, nobody, somebody, no one, someone, everyone, one, whoever, whosoever, anyone. These are little words that tend to cause large problems.
(3) A verb is a word that expresses action (swims, thinks, decides, blasts) or a state of being (is, seems, appears).
(4) An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun (happy days; he's bullish; she's pregnant).
(5) An adverb is a word that describes a verb (She ran fast), another adverb (She ran really fast), an adjective (The box was too heavy), or a whole sentence (However, we tried to lift it). This adverb category looks like spare parts department among parts of speech. It seems as though all the words that didn't fit into the other, more narrowly defined categories, slid into this one. But adverbs usually answer the questions when, where, how, in what manner or to what extent:
(6) A preposition is a word that expresses a relationship in time (after, during, before) or space (in, into, to, at, behind, beneath, beside). That said, perhaps the most frequently used preposition in English is one that expresses possession (the bottom of the page). Commonly used prepositions include: above, about, across, after, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for from, in, inside, into, like, near, off, on, since, to, toward, through, under, until, up, upon, with, within. (7) A conjunction is a word that connects other words (Jack and Jill), or groups of words (The members of the wedding and the guests of the groom). A special class of conjunctions known as coordinating conjunctions join together words of equal rank; I prefer to call them fanboys: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. They are very important in constructing compound sentences, as we will see in a later mini-lecture. Other conjunctions connect word groups that are not equal; they're important to show subordination of one word group to another, so they're known as subordinate conjunctions: although (although I am very smart, my grades are indifferent), because ( it was scorched and withered away because it had no root), before (before you bathe, take off your shoes) , except (I baked cake for everybody, except you) , if (what shall I say if your father asks where you are?), unless (they sleep soundly unless they have done some mischief), when (Pharaoh hardened his heart when he saw them), and others. (8) Interjections are exclamations of emotion (wow, Mon Dieu, good grief). They're usually followed by exclamation points (!), and are very seldom or never used in academic writing. Lest we find all of this too simple, English has the habit of moving specific words from one part of speech to another, so that some words appear in several parts of speech, as in the case of the word "up":
How many variations are there in the use of the word "down"? How many in use of the word "round"? For
further review of the parts of speech, look at Dr. E's Grammar
Sequence for College Writers. |
language
empowers
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gutchess@englishare.net Academic writing home page Gary & Elizabeth Gutchess © 2003 |
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The
traditional parts of speech appear to have some basis in the human
brain. Neurologists theorize that various parts of speech are produced
or processed in discrete parts of the brain. For example, nouns may be
processed in a small area in the left temporal lobe, but verbs in the
left frontal lobe. Research has shown that proper nouns (such as
people's names and place names) are processed in an area separate from
common nouns, so you may remember Joe by name only if two parts if your
brain are communicating with each other. It's possible that you will
remember him (what he looks like, what he does, where he lives, etc.)
but forget his name. Stroke victims whose language skills are relatively
unaffected can nevertheless lose the ability to recall people's names;
in these cases, the neurological damage has occurred in the particular
area that governs the use of proper nouns. Theoretically, with a
different kind of brain dysfunction, you could know Joe's name but
forget who he is.
Also
be sure to notice the pronoun wrinkle that the possessive doesn't
always use an apostrophe: his, hers, its, yours and theirs.
"It's" is a contraction for "it is."
"Who's" is a contraction for "who is." In the
indefinite pronouns, however, we use an apostrophe to show the
possessive: somebody's, everyone's, no one's.